WHILE most musicians like their face to be recognized along with their songs, Gen Z singer-songwriter Mil Sales prefers his artistry to shine under the mask of anonymity. 

At least for now. 

The 18-year-old Sales has put out songs on YouTube, but has kept his face under wraps. 

“I don’t want to put a face behind the voice in my songs. I want to be a mystery to my listeners,” he told republicasia. 

“The thought of people trying to imagine what I look like while listening to my songs intrigues me. I also believe that not knowing what an artist looks like makes listening to that artist even more interesting. In time, I’ll be revealing my face to my audience, but not while I still haven’t made a name for myself in the music industry,” he added. 

He believes each song possesses its own character that could make listeners associate a certain face with it that’s not exactly his own. 

“Think of it as an actor playing different characters in different movies, but all of the movies are the same genre,” he said. 

Face reveal when?

This young musician is aware that as a performer, he might have to show himself to the public during television guestings, mall shows, and bar gigs. 

But for now, he said he would rather hide his face so that listeners could focus on his voice and music. Unless he is fully decided on showing up uncovered, he would not risk exposing his face on any show. 

“[I’ll only show up] if I’m ready to show my face. I would accept the invitation. If not, well, I guess not. Who knows, in time, I will show my face. But as of now I’d like it to remain a mystery for others,” he said. 

By ready he meant if he has already signed up with a record label or has established a sizable fanbase. 

Mil’s sound 

Benito Emilio Infante Sales IV or simply Mil already knew that his calling is in music even as a child. 

He comes from a family of lawyers and said he was lucky enough not to have experienced being pressured to follow in the footsteps of his parents. 

He started seriously delving into music when he was 10 years old. Among his influences are singer Because and rapper and songwriter Al James. Eventually, he discovered how to put together vocals and instruments to make a song. 

“So I tried that for a bit and then my genre was very random. It was mainstream, there was R&B, dark R&B, all types of genre, hip hop,” he said. 

As he was learning the ropes, Sales, along with two other friends who are also local artists, put up On the Way Music Productions and produced music from 2020 to 2021. 

Eventually, he found his sound in dark RnB, a genre characterized by lower range vocals with electronized tunes usually evoking themes of angst and loss. 

Career direction

Sales has already written a number of songs that filled an entire album, which he released last year on YouTube. The songs focused on cheating and heartbreak. 

However, after a moment of glory, he took down the album simply because he felt it wasn’t him. 

“I just removed all of them recently because that’s not me as an artist. That’s not who I wanted to become,” he said.

He has since put out a new album that reflected the sound he wanted. 

“Now, this new album, that’s me. That’s the type of music I want to make. That’s what I want to introduce to the Philippines as well. Doesn’t matter if they like it or not,” he said. 

This album, titled Dark Vision, features tracks that talk about the horrible things that people do or experience. 

“My songs are different perspectives of people who do horrible things or people who’ve been through horrible situations. They’re different characters, and I’d love for my listeners to imagine a different person singing in each song,” he said. 

Currently, Sales is preparing to shoot the music video for his carrier single To Hurt You. While he would be in the video, he would not show his face yet. 

He said he and his creative team have already hatched a plan on how to execute his anonymous appearance in the frame. 

But Sales said his music won’t remain faceless forever. While he wants to remain a mystery, he knows he can’t be one for long.

After all, he wants to successfully penetrate mainstream music and make himself and his family proud. 

“I’ll be putting a face to my songs when the time’s right. It could be when I become commercially successful, or when I join a record label, or when I feel like it’s time to show them who I really am. Either way, it’s gonna be a surprise,” he said.